


Spaces Between

by kitana



Category: Shikabane Hime | Corpse Princess
Genre: Gen, Grief/Mourning
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-04-27
Updated: 2009-04-27
Packaged: 2018-01-15 15:26:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 312
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1309783
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kitana/pseuds/kitana
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Two days after his sixteenth birthday, and his world has turned upside down.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Spaces Between

Ouri isn’t sure what he supposed to do now. Two days after his sixteenth birthday, and his world has turned upside down. He’s Makina’s contracted monk now, and Keisei has already been buried in the traditional style of Buddha. Other than his own memories and Keisei’s birthday stew, there is nothing of his older brother left to hold on to.

It makes Ouri ache to think that all of the things he learned about Keisei, he learned them too late. Makina says not to, but Ouri feels he has his fair share of blame to shoulder. Ouri wonders if he had not been so curious, would Keisei still be here? Would things have gone the way that they did with Minai? Would Akasha have targeted them first? There are too many variables for him to draw conclusions, so he has to resign himself to the fact that there really was nothing else to be done.

Ouri knows that his thoughts do him no good, so he tries to focus on other things. He has been eating Keisei’s stew bit by bit, even though there’s a little too much Tabasco for his tastes. He’s torn between eating and not eating; he realizes that it shouldn’t go to waste, Keisei would hate that, but each bite brings back the memory of the last time he spoke to his brother.

The dead cannot be brought back to life, Ouri knows. He has learned by heart what Keisei says the living can do for the dead – remember and cry. That’s it. Ouri doesn’t know when he’ll stop crying – he thinks he’d better soon, there are things to do and the tears are making his stew salty – but he’ll always remember.

Ouri takes another spoonful of Keisei’s stew, sniffs, and then eats another until the bowl is empty.

Ouri knows Keisei is watching.

He won’t dare disappoint.


End file.
